‘It’s quiet… Too quiet…’ I thought as I let my meaty hands comb through Domino’s long, silky, periwinkle hair. She gave a satisfied purr, her tiny lips twitching upwards slightly.

“Mhuu… Papa~” she was currently sleeping on my lap, her entire body treating my furry legs like a makeshift bed.

Over the last three days, both her and I have… bonded, in simpler terms. I treated her like I would a little sister while I ignored her calling me ‘Papa.’ She wouldn’t change her way of calling, something along the lines of, ‘Papa will always be Papa.’ Yeah, I don’t get it either…

But that’s not to say we didn’t get closer. She might be expressionless most of the time, hell, she wouldn’t even talk that much, but something about seeing her trying to grab my attention with her actions, be it managing the Dungeon, doing something productive, or even just plain being affectionate towards me did something to break my inner barriers.

Sure, I may have trusted the Dungeon Mobs, but that was because they were loyal to a fault, and before I had that conversation with Domino. The Goblins, not so much, and no matter how many of them are there, there is no way they will leave alive should they attempt an uprising.

Domino, however, was a gift from the System, something I would’ve never trusted in my entire life just because of that fact, but seeing her do everything she can do for my sake made me somewhat curious.

At first, I treated her like any other dungeon mob, someone I could use to further my objectives. She was a gift from the System, the thing that kept on screwing me over in this 2nd life, but during these three days, I found out that she was more than just a gift from the System.

She was alive, had emotions, and truly cared for me and the Dungeon. She would gladly lay down her life for my sake. I recalled the conversation we had yesterday night, right after I finished crafting some mediocre weapons for the primates and Goblins to use.

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“Domino, can I ask you a question?” my voice brought Domino out of her slumber. She was resting after she had finished all of her current tasks that I had given her. Apparently, even if she was like an artificial human, she was human, nonetheless. She ate, she breathed, and she acted like a human being. “What are you?”

“Mu… Domino is Domino…” she slid down from the hammock I had given her to rest in. She approached me with steady steps, her face never flinching from my gaze. “Domino is… Papa’s daughter…”

She gave my arm a hug, the only thing she could hug properly given her size. She nuzzled on my fur while purring like a cat, her slightly, pointy ears twitching in delight.

“Domino will always… always give Papa everything…” Domino looked up, her expressionless gaze directed towards me. Looking closer, her eyes were slightly moistened, like she was about to cry. “So please… Love Domino…?”

That was it. Her heartfelt plea broke down my barriers and I gave her a hug, lowering my body to be level with hers.

‘When was the last time I experienced a hug…?’ my recollections of my family are hazy. I couldn’t remember a time where they even gave me some sort of affection…

There never was one… Wasn’t there…?

“Of course,” I lifted Domino and brought her face to face. I could now see tears flowing down her cheeks, giving me the brightest smile she had ever given me. “I will never leave you alone.”

I placed her on my back and proceeded to parade her through the Dungeon, introducing her to the primates and the Goblins. Now that I think about it, even my Dungeon mobs have their own set of emotions and memories…

‘What the hell am I doing…?’ I felt disgusted with myself. For so long, I’ve been treated as a tool by my parents and as a nobody by everyone else that I’ve forgotten what it’s like to be a human being.

I was like a puppet with strings, following every command to the letter, and here I am, doing the same with my Summons, as well as with Domino.

No more. When I thought of family, I thought of a wife and kids, but looking behind, I already had one around me. The primates’ and Domino’s faces coming to mind…

I vow… I won’t let anything come between us…

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Well, we did have that conversation, but I still haven’t done anything to increase my relationship with the primates. Eh, actions for the future; for now, focus on improving the Dungeon’s defense…

“Domino, wake up,” I rubbed her head and she shook. She stretched and rubbed her eyes as she yawned while she got up.

“… Papa…?” Domino’s lethargic face was a comedic one. I couldn’t help but pinch her cheek softly with my hand. “Muu…! Papa…! Stahp…!”

I released her cheeks and she pouted while I chuckled. I lifted her up once more and placed her on my back.

“Can you give me the report summary for the last few days?” Domino nodded at my request and a holographic screen appeared in front of me.

Trespassers Killed: 43

Goblins: 23 = 25 DP, 20 EXP (invalidated) each

Kobolds: 14 = 35 DP, 25 EXP (invalidated) each

Orcs: 6 = 60 DP, 50 EXP (invalidated) each

Dungeon Residents DP income:

Day 1:

Goblins: 8 = 6 DP, 5 EXP (invalidated) each

Day 2:

Goblins: 13 = 6 DP, 5 EXP (invalidated) each

Kobolds: 2 = 9 DP, 6 EXP (invalidated) each

Day 3:

Goblins: 21 = 6 DP, 5 EXP (invalidated) each

Kobolds: 6 = 9 DP, 6 EXP (invalidated) each

Orcs: 2 = 15 DP, 13 EXP (invalidated) each

I also leveled up my [Blacksmithing] skill!

Blacksmithing lv 2 -> 3

This is the result of my actions, and I have found out a lot, like how the monsters who live in my Dungeon give me DP and EXP daily. I checked my total DP and smiled.

DP: 1859

It may not be that much, but it is acceptable. This way, I’ll be able to arm my Dungeon with more traps, excluding the amateurish traps made by the Kobolds and Goblins who currently inhabit it.

Orcs however, don’t do traps. Instead, they made a fortress made of wood by chopping the trees in the Dungeon. It was only the wall part, though, and it was only on one side, but give them more time and there might be a wooden fortress in the near future.

It’s a good thing I told them to build a fortress around the passageway leading to the Mine area. I also had the primates help with the building, so just behind the walls were various foundations for wooden huts.

The Poison Swamp area, however, was another thing entirely. At first, laying traps was slow-going since only Gobi was doing it. Then, I had the chimps help, as well as bring in some monsters. Some died, while others were brought to the Forest area, where I forced them to serve me or die.

With the influx of monsters, and with Gobi teaching them how to lay traps, traps are now in abundance in the Poison Swamp area, and a few more are scattered in the Forest area as well. Fortunately, the Dungeon Menu marked where these traps were, even if they weren’t created by the Dungeon itself, so there’s a slim chance I’ll be hit by one.

Not that it would damage me heavily, though. I’m a tank… And they are still obvious to the trained eye, since they were made by amateur trappers.

‘I should probably increase the size of the Forest area. It’s getting too crowded,’ I opened the Dungeon Menu and started customizing the room. I then had it increased to twice its size, reducing my DP by 1000.

Once done, I had Domino summon Orcs to increase their number, and more mandrills and gorillas. There are too many chimps currently. They are also easier to arm than primates because they have more humanoid bodies than them.

However, primates are still superior. They are more versatile than the orcs, who are all just brute strength. Sure, gorillas are also pure, brute strength, but then you see them climb, run faster, and bite you to death.

Anyway, I grabbed the leftover weapons I made in my downtime when not training the mobs and defenders. Both are distinct, with mobs being the Dungeon summons and defenders, monsters from the outside.

Next, I made my way towards the Forest area via the Dungeon Master shortcut. Once there, I made my way to the ongoing construction of the wooden fortress. When I arrived, I handed over the weapons to the mobs without any gear. I ignored making armor for now, since weapons are more important, what with how little materials it requires, as well as how little time it consumes.

It was at that moment, Domino tugged on my fur and showed me something I was waiting for… Wait, a white flag? And is that Lennon…?

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~ Third Person POV ~

“Lennon, are you really sure this will work…?”

“Honestly, no,” Lennon replied while waving a white flag in front of the cave entrance that leads to Jionni’s Dungeon. “But this is the only shot we have to avoid the incoming war. From the rumors I heard, they are about a week away from Kazanpan.”

Behind them, Merethyl and Mariona could be seen hiding within the trees if ever something bad happens.

“Please work… Please work…” Merethyl silently prayed while Mariona scowled at their unfortunate circumstances.

It was after a few minutes of waiting did footsteps coming from the cave reach their ears. If one strained their ears, they could hear more than one pair of footsteps.

The silhouettes of dozens of monsters like Jionni’s, big and small, came closer and closer. Once close enough, the sun shined on their bodies, revealing all of their figures, with Jionni at the front, completely garbed in his armor.

“… What do you want…?” Jionni spit out his question, his face flushed with rage. It was at that moment, they knew there was no convincing Jionni, but they had to try.

“Jionni, please, listen to us,” Lennon pleaded as he and Kayla went down on their knees and bowed. “A war is coming, and you are our only hope.”

Silence reigned supreme in the area, with only the sounds of people and monsters breathing, and the wind to be heard.

“… Me? Your only hope…?” Lennon and Kayla looked up, only to see a more furious scowl adorning his face. “Leave… Your war is not my concern. Not after that bullshit you pulled outside the Kobold cave.”

“No, wait! I can explai-”

“SILENCE! I will have none of that,” Jionni’s roar boomed across the area, causing various types of animals to cower in fear and leave in an instant. “Leave. If you don’t, I will kill you.”

“… Very well,” Lennon and Kayla got up, their eyes shadowed by their hair. “Before we leave, however, please, allow me to apologize for our mistakes.”

“… Leave, final warning,” Jionni said, and they both knew he was serious. They both left, leaving the Dungeon and meeting up with the twin Elves to head back to give their report.

It seems…. conscription is their only fate…